Previously, the garden plot was almost the main source of natural products, the main area was occupied by beds with carrots, onions, potatoes and other vegetable crops and berry bushes. Today, in most cases, it is also a resting place with lawns and flower beds, and some turn the garden into a work of art.
History of occurrence
In general, sculptures were popular in ancient Greece. They decorated squares, parks, buildings, and personal plots. And the famous gnomes in red caps are already German folklore. It was believed that these good little men bring happiness, love and wealth to the house. In Russia, the fashion for decorative garden figures, as well as much more, was brought by Peter I. More than a hundred such dwarfs "inhabited" his summer garden. However, only recently garden sculptures became available to ordinary citizens. Today on the shelves of shops you can see various figures for the garden of completely different price ranges.
But the figures in which they put their souls bring special joy.
What are they made of?
DIY garden figurines are a wonderful decoration. It not only allows you to give old things a new life, but it is also a unique author’s decor. You can make such decorations with the whole family, and materials can be found in the attic or in the garage.
For the manufacture of decorative figures for the garden, you can use the following materials:
- tree;
- gypsum;
- cement;
- glass;
- plastic bottles;
- clay;
- natural stones;
- rods;
- wire and more.
Wooden decor for the garden
Wood is the most easily accessible material. It doesn’t matter if it’s an old pillar or a new log. From a single piece of wood you can cut out flowerpots of a classic shape or in the form of animals, from a simple pillar you can make a totem in the African style. Even if we couldn’t work with woodcarving, we can make Peter Pan’s house out of a living tree by attaching decorative doors and windows to it, and a brownie from an old bar. The stump from a felled tree does not have to be uprooted; it will make a wonderful flower pot. It is only necessary to hollow out the core, having formed a recess sufficient for the roots of the plant, and cover it with earth. Even the woodpile can be a garden decor, if you lay out a pattern of logs of different species of trees.
Gypsum sculptures
Plaster garden figurines are the most common type of sculpture. Working with this material is not very difficult, especially if you remember several features:
- The easiest way to work with liquid gypsum.
- This material, when set, is heated to 60-703.
- Plaster from which it is possible to sculpt sets in 1-5 minutes.
To make a figure for a garden with your own hands from liquid gypsum, you need a form. For example, if there is an old broken doll, you can make a clay mold from it. To do this, the doll is smeared with petroleum jelly or a thin layer of oil, then covered with a layer of clay, left to dry. Then the clay mold is carefully removed, re-lubricated, but more abundantly, the parts are glued together with the same clay, then the gypsum mortar is poured into the hole left. When the gypsum has cooled, you can get out and dry. A fully dried figure is twice as light as the original one and has a snow-white color.
If, however, sculpted from gypsum, then this should be done gradually, applying one layer after another, forming the shape of the future decor for the garden. Small details - patterns, eyes, facial features and more, can be cut out on a not completely frozen gypsum figure using special tools or an ordinary knife. You need to work with such a figure quickly, and make the solution exactly on 1 layer.
Cement Products
After completion of construction or repair, construction materials, including cement, often remain. From it you can make paving slabs in the form of leaflets, the form of which will be the real leaves of plants, or an original panel by gluing colored pebbles and glass to cement.
Or you can make original balls. They can be used as flowerpots, candlesticks or just garden decor.
To make them you will need:
- thick and thin cement mortar;
- balloon;
- working surface;
- threads
- decor.
Do such DIY crafts for the garden in 3 steps:
- Inflate one ball, coat 1/3 of the surface with a thick cement mortar, let it set.
- Soak the threads in liquid cement, wrap them on a ball, leaving a hole with a diameter of 8-10 cm. Leave to dry in a warm, shaded place.
- After complete drying, pierce the balloon and remove, and decorate the resulting workpiece to your taste.
The ball for the garden is ready!
Glass decor
From glass bottles you can make flower pots or candle holders. And fragments of colored glass can be turned into a unique airy composition.
Materials:
- colored glass;
- plastic (clay, salt dough or other plastic material);
- awl;
- kapron threads;
- base (wooden board, plastic circle or ceiling rail of the gazebo);
- nails 10 mm in the number of glass pieces.
Manufacturing steps:
- Roll sausages from plastic or other materials.
- Gently wrap them around the glass to form a frame.
- With an awl or a thick needle, make a hole in the frame for mounting.
- If necessary, bake in the oven according to the instructions for the frame material.
- Cool. Through the holes in the frame, thread the threads of different lengths, fix them on the base with nails.
In the sun, the glass will shimmer and scatter glare across the lawn, and with gusts of wind it will ring melodically.
Plastic figures
Figures for the garden of plastic bottles are one of the most affordable types of applied art. Children will be very interested in participating in the design of the garden plot. You can use bottles of different shapes and sizes, they can be whole or cut into pieces. They can be painted, decorated with colored tape, self-adhesive paper or other elements. The advantage of such garden figures is that they are practically not subject to time.
In addition to bottles, you can use other plastic utensils. For example, such a stork for the garden, as shown in the photo, can be made from white disposable glasses.
Manufacturing steps:
- Wireframe. Fill a five-liter bottle with 1/3 sand. Using adhesive tape, attach 2 wooden blocks on the sides - legs, and front in the center - neck.
- The wings can be made of cardboard or dense polyethylene, for example for greenhouses. To do this, cut 2 pieces in the form of a semicircle.
- For a rounded head, you need the upper part of a 1.5 liter bottle with a “waist”. The neck will be the basis for the beak.
- The beak consists of 2 cones. You can make them from cardboard or a plastic bottle by wrapping them with yellow duct tape.
- For the manufacture of disposable white glasses will be needed. At each glass, cut the side, cut off the bottom. Cut the edge of the resulting strip in a zigzag pattern, simulating the shape of the ends of 5-6 feathers.
- Glue feather strips over the entire area of the stork's body.
- Wrap the wooden leg blocks with yellow duct tape to form the knee joints.
- Stick eyes.
Clay garden sculptures
Clay is very comfortable for making DIY crafts for the garden. Unlike gypsum, it does not harden so quickly, with its help you can dazzle any shapes. For example, houses for gnomes decorated with multi-colored pebbles, glass and beads. The disadvantage of this material is a long drying time, as well as the need for firing, so that the product does not deform during the first rain.
Stone garden decor
Natural stone is rich in shapes and sizes. You can find them anywhere: on the road, in the river or in the mountains. It is now quite popular to decorate gardens with such stones. It can be just a few large boulders on an alpine hill, a sculpture made up of several stones, for example, a tour (a turret made of stones stacked on top of each other), a sundial, or simply originally painted stones.
Depending on the shape and size, stones can become turtles, ladybugs, fish, snails and everything that tells the imagination. You can also find a large flat stone and decorate it with an ornament. Such a boulder will decorate any corner of the garden. It is better to use oil paint for outdoor applications. However, if you do such crafts for the garden with your own hands with children, then you can paint with acrylic art paints. Finish the finished product with acrylic varnish in 3 layers.
Bar shapes
Another original way to make a figure for the garden with your own hands is to weave it from the rods. For work, it is better to take willow, they are quite flexible, but at the same time durable. It is possible to make from rods not only a classic wattle fence, but also, if you add imagination, and a full-fledged sculpture. For convenience, you must first sketch, then choose a place for future sculpture. It is better for beginners to make a stationary figure, since during transportation some rods may fall out, disrupting the design. The sculpture is weaved on the basis of the frame, step by step filling the space. The main advantage of this sculpture is its lightness, airiness and environmental friendliness of materials.
Decor from old tires
Tires are also popular among gardeners. From them you can make swings, flowerbeds, chairs, borders, fences or sculptures. However, working with them is quite difficult, since the tires have a metal mesh in their composition, which is not so easy to cut. To do this, you need a jigsaw and a lot of strength.
The figures for the garden and the vegetable garden from the tire hold their shape for a long time, are easily paintable, therefore such a sculpture will please both the master and his guests for a long time.
Old things in a garden decor
To decorate the garden, you can use not only the materials left after the repair, but also unnecessary things. From old buckets you can make an original fountain, and from unnecessary pots - a funny little man. It is not difficult to make such a figure for the garden with your own hands.
Chairs, tables, and even chests of drawers turn into amazing flowerbeds, while flowerpots from musical instruments that can no longer be repaired gain a second life, continuing to play music, but in flower harmony.
Figures for the garden today are not only a beautiful decoration, but also a means of self-expression. In various sources you can find many master classes. Figures for the garden with your own hands can be made both for yourself and as a gift to your dear person. Regardless of what material will be used to make crafts for the garden, the result will delight others with its beauty, original appearance and uniqueness.